this fight is not over. >> we are going to get to michigan in a moment. first we want to bring in today's political power panel and dig in on the big topics of the day. msnbc contributor joy ann reid, also managing editor for the grio. msnbc contributor ari melber, correspondent for the nation and republican strategist alice stewart. great to see all three of you. joy ann, moments ago, boehner saying the sides are far apart. the cliff 20 days away. the posturing continues with the presidential politics and the president saying this is going to happen. so why can't these two men meet in the middle? >> it's interesting, because you're hearing in the public pronouncements almost no movement. the president reportedly lowered his target on tax, you know, revenue from 1.6 to 1.4. boehner stayed exactly the same, 800 billion. they are differing on how to get there. they are still saying the same things they have always been saying but then you have other reports in the "wall street journal" and bloomberg that behind the scenes the staffs are talking real numbers